Concept Guide

Table Of Contents
Clearing Interface Counters
Overview of Layer Modes
On all systems running the Dell Networking OS, you can place physical interfaces, port channels, and VLANs in Layer 2 mode or Layer 3
mode.
By default, VLANs are in Layer 2 mode.
Table 25. Layer modes
Type of Interface Possible Modes Requires Creation Default State
10/100/1000 Ethernet, Gigabit
Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Layer 2
Layer 3
No Shutdown (disabled)
Management N/A No Shutdown (disabled)
Loopback Layer 3 Yes No shutdown (enabled)
Null interface N/A No Enabled
Port Channel
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes Shutdown (disabled)
VLAN
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes, except for the default
VLAN.
No shutdown (active for Layer
2)
Shutdown (disabled for Layer 3)
Conguring Layer 2 (Data Link) Mode
Do not congure switching or Layer 2 protocols such as spanning tree protocol (STP) on an interface unless the interface has been set to
Layer 2 mode.
To set Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface, use the following command.
Enable Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface.
INTERFACE mode
switchport
Example of a Basic Layer 2 Interface Conguration
Dell(conf-if)#show config
!
interface Port-channel 1
no ip address
switchport
no shutdown
Dell(conf-if)#
Conguring Layer 2 (Interface) Mode
To congure an interface in Layer 2 mode, use the following commands.
Enable the interface.
362
Interfaces